My understanding was that ship side launched boats could launch and recovery at higher sea states than rear boat ramps, the new Belgium/Dutch MCM USVs have been tested in the MARIN test tank at sea states 5/6 with significant waves height of 4m with incoming waves from all directions including leewa...

@ArmChairCivy

A clear and concise explanation of recent RN history and why it has ended up in such as sad place today. Thx.

Calc the average days at sea per year (as did yesterday for T45) for the fleet of the thirteen T23s., based on 2015 to 2018 figures (Kevan Jones did not ask for 2019 data, think maybe asked in previous queation?), by coincidence the answer was the same as for the T45, 81 days at sea per year per shi...

Very disappointing but not unexpected to report over the 5 years, 2015 to 2019, T45 class of six destroyers spent 2,417 days at sea, an average of 81 days per ship per year, would not be surprised if RN with the T45 had created new record low of all the world's navies for modern destroyer classes. P...

So the missile tubes are built here in UK, shipped to the USA then put in the CMC compartment. I always thought everything was done in the US. I was under the impression that the Trident missile four tube modules were manufactured and welded in US by BWXT, faulty welds found in 2018 threatening Col...

BreakingDefense quoting USN Rear Adm. Scott Pappano saying coronavirus has delayed the Columbia SSBN, Virginia SSN and Dreadnought SSBN programmes caused when less than 30 percent of workers at UK based Babcock Marine showed up, now back to 90%, which resulted in delayed construction and welding of ...

Its built in to the DNA of all civil servants to never actually ever make any decision as if it ever goes wrong they might be held accountable. 26th May Dstl have contracted with BAE for the £350 million ASTRID unproven systems to provide analysis on critical strategy, policy and investment challeng...

Gensets The Iver Huitfeldt class gensets 2 x CAT3512 gensets @ 1,360 kW each + 2 x CAT3508 gensets @ 920 kW each, total 4.56 MW, compared to T31 four MTU generator sets based on 16V 2000 M41B units, each delivering in excess of 900 kW, total ~3.6 MW, a reduction of ~ 0.9 MW. Presumably reflecting T3...

FWIW USN P8A for the third time in two months intercepted by Russian fighters in eastern Mediterranean, latest episode Su-35s shadowed the P-8A for 65 minutes, Russians from flying from Hmeimim air base in Syria and Al Jufra in Libya. From <https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-05-27/...

ALaMO 57mm, have seen mention of $14,000 plus per round, have been unalbe to verify

L3 video April 9, 2018

First images have seen of the L3 AlaMO projectile, which won out in USN competition following trials with the BAE ORKA developed from the BAE 3P round for an anti-boghammar round for use with the Bofors 57mm gun, max range stated as 10 km/5.4 nm by L3 per earlier video. L3 have not disclosed any inf...

I wonder if the 6900t figure is lightship or standard displacement ? :think: .....as for the Hunters 8800t , that is supposedly its mythical End Of Life displacement , which IMO is a bit of a bollocks term anyway ( Full load is full load....ie the maximum displacement of the design....it doesn't ch...

The suggestion "a ship with x2 pinging power" and "a ship with 1/2 a noise" sounds logical to offset the URN of a low cost unsilenced ship though would like to know if any trials ever conducted to confirm the theory and if it works in operation, questions, how much larger sonar a...

what dose a type 26 have that makes it the only frigate we can send ? Full spectrum of ASW, AAW, ASuW weapons and countermeasures plus hull quietening/stealth. Only even a few of these exist (and will only exist for the RN) even in a glossy T31 sales brochure. To operate in the Barents Sea needs a ...

also to be remembered that T31 will be approx 1,000t lighter ship than IH. Actually, the difference is in all likelihood much smaller. The RN is notorious for using its own/ different displacement definitions than everyone else. As such the 5700t quoted for T31 is almost certainly not a Full Load d...

MAN Alpha Naval CP/FP Propellers brochure pdf, includes a pics of the three Iver Huitfeldt class ships and one undergoing underwater shock trials as an example ships using their propellers, would expect T31 to fit the later Mk5 generation introduced in 2010. Propellers are the main source of noise b...

So it seems that the USN will also not have torpedo launchers on their FREMMs... Dr Regan Campbell USN FFG(X) Program Manager capabilities spec released at SNA2019, it does include ship launched LWTs (tried to post graphic but system rejected it). The FREMM-US/FFG(X), hull, superstructure and scant...

Not RN but of interest the very big win by Fincantieri yesterday of the USN FFG(X) competition with FREMM-US, a slightly larger variant of FREMM-IT at 7,400t per ship, main driver was the additional 300t of steel added to meet USN survivability standards. The lead ship $1,281 million/~£1 billion fol...

BusinessLive report on T31 contracts Babcock placed recently "MTU, delivering the main engines and diesel generators for the frigates. These will be manufactured in Germany // It has also been announced that German manufacturer Renk will provide the main reduction gearboxes, and Germany-headqua...

From the FlightGlobal report Saab were not allowed to compete for the RAF AEW contract, where there was an open competition in the UAR they won against the Wedgetail/MESA with their GlobalEye/Erieye ER, no wonder Saab were not happy. "The early warning radar relies on gallium nitrate technology...

I appreciate the reply but when you state the Wedgetail has a range over some point and cant state the why the SAAB can exceed this its hard to understand your claimed advantage certainly also the Wedgetail,s L band is steerable so in one direction as required it can sweep further out but the full ...

Isotta Fraschini - Bara, a subsidiary of Fincantieri, publicising their new 1,600 kWe diesel gensets,1,200 rpm, four fitted in the new PPA frigate (first three ships installed with MAN 12V175D gensets, 1,640 kW). They mention they build the enclosures for the two MT30s for the 33,000t LHD Trieste (h...

The Wedgetail with its Northrop Grumman Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar dates back to the turn of the century, L-band, 1 to 2 GHz, electronically scanned array features three apertures, the two side arrays and a “top hat” array, that provides a 360-degree azimuth scan with no me...

One of the F-35 Cat 1 deficiencies is the radar, the Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-81 AESA radar, USN unhappy that in sea-search mode is limited to what is directly in front of the aircraft “snowplow mode”, USN wants to be able to scan a wider area when in sea-search mode eg to best able to find targets...

Defense Aerospace reporting big rise in cost of the latest F-35B engines to £22.6 million each - $27.8 million revealed by add on to Lot 14 P&W contract of four F135-PW-600 engines for $111.1 million, even though RR Bristol preform 9.5% of work by value and £ value fallen against $ would have pu...